For the first time in more than forty years, the United States is producing more oil than Saudi Arabia and is projected to surpass Russia to become the world’s biggest oil producer.

Since manufacturers rely on natural gas both as a fuel and feedstock, low natural gas prices can provide a substantial competitive advantage.

There has been a lot of discussion in the U.S. recently about the benefits of natural gas. We’ve got a pretty comprehensive list and have posted several blog entries that extoll the value of this natural resource. So it’s really not surprising to read that natural gas plays an important role in American manufacturing.

A lot of companies invest in America, creating jobs, paying taxes, and adding value to communities across the nation. We are proud that our investment resulted in being named one of the Top 25 “Investment Heroes” by The Progressive Policy Institute.

Hrap provided a historical context for the current industry downturn; detailed the prospects for a recovery; and took the audience through the industry’s response and the role states can play to foster pragmatic regulations moving forward.

Have you ever wondered how the world would look without fossil fuels? While it may be tough to visualize, Go Compare has created a few maps to give you a clearer picture. The series of maps shows how the earth would look if fossil fuel energy, nuclear and/or renewable power sources were turned off, one by one.

Bloomberg recently released a data visualization of the startling decrease in the number of active wells in the U.S. And, in fact, rig counts are at the lowest they’ve been in 75 years. While that may not seem like information that impacts your daily life, the reality is that each of these rigs supports dozens or even hundreds of jobs lost. And that’s not all.

Our industry is highly regulated. These regulations ensure we operate in a safe, responsible manner to protect our employees, communities where we operate and the environment. However, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed a new rule to limit natural gas venting and flaring that could have the unintended effects of reducing production in our operating areas, thus preventing associated state revenues.

It’s not a secret that Texas is America’s top oil and natural gas producing state. But what that means economically isn’t that well known. Recently released data from the Texas Oil & Gas Association (TXOGA) shows that the industry paid $13.8 billion in state and local taxes and state royalties in fiscal year 2015.